A "Poor Mans Black Velvet"

The Poor Mans Black Velvet is one of my favorite beer cocktails. It is a simple mix of a stout beer and a cider beer, as opposed to the actual Black Velvet which is a mix of a stout beer and champagne (picture courtesy of the Greasy Spoon). I don't know what it is about the PMBV that I enjoy so much. Of course, you should definitely like both stout and cider style beers in order to enjoy this one.

The way I enjoy the PMBV is to take a few drinks off the top so that there is room in the glass for a nice big swig. Then, well, I take a big swig! When I drink the PMBV I like to get to the "middle", where the cider beer and the stout begin mixing. The thick, smooth, toasty, nutty, coffee taste that the stout provides first hits your tongue and is then washed down by the crisp, (obviously) fruity, carbonated characteristics of the cider. It is truly a tasty mix actually holds up well over the night, this is something that you can definitely drink all night.

Golden Wheat Finally Tasted!

After being on shelves for a couple months now I finally got a chance to taste the new Bud offering, Bud Light Golden Wheat. This beer is Bud's entry into the spiced beer market. Over the weekend a friend of mine bought a 12 pack and shared it. After putting my bias aside and trying this beer, it's not bad.

I drank it out of a bottle, fairly cold. The mouthfeel was no surprise, smooth and full of carbonation. The smell was decent, mostly spices and citrus with some hops. The taste followed suit, this beer includes coriander so this taste was present, as well as the requisite citrus tones. It reminded me a lot of Shock Top, as well as Pyramid and Widmer hefe's. As far as drinkability goes, I'd give this one a C+. It doesn't really separate itself from the pack but drinking it isn't a problem and it's a beer that will probably fair well at BBQ's and casual get togethers.

A little bit of heaven in a glass!

Over the weekend I was at Two Fools (Nob Hill) with some friends just hanging out. Some coworkers of my friend met up with us and one of them bought a bottle of Chimay Grande Reserve. I had seen the bottle but never tried it. It's a true Belgium beer, brewed in Chimay Belgium by monks at a monastery, no joke, and falls into the Belgian Strong Dark Ale style.

Out of the bottle, the beer comes in a rather large bottle, he poured me a glass. When I took my first smell and drink I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it. There were a few fruity tones but mostly I noticed the toasty, slightly buttery taste. It was a soft, smooth toasty taste, I'm not sure how else to explain it. The toasty tones didn't attack the tongue, rather, it gently washed on the tongue. The mouthfeel was surprising as well, light and delicate for a dark beer with a decent amount of carbonation. The smell was equally as wonderful with toasty and spicy notes most noticeable. Overall, I give this one an A+. In fact, I went out and bought a bottle at Quarters and look forward to having it this weekend.

Odell Brewery

Odell Brewery is one of my favorites, there are a number of brews from them that I enjoy. In fact, I would say that Odell is right up there with New Belgium and Sam Adams.

One of my favorite brews from Odell is 90 Shilling. It's a Scottish Ale, so it's gonna be a little flowery and smokey, and this one hits the spot.

The smell is very hopsy, you definitely get a preview of what you're getting into when you take a good whiff of it. The mouthfeel is more on the smooth side, with a slight amount of carbonation to tickle the tongue. The taste is right on, with slight floral hints and a good amount of malty, toasted characters.

Although I have yet to review it, their Pale Ale is also very tasty. Odell Brewery features about 10 brews, covering the major beer styles. I'd recommend trying them out.

Kelly's Brew Pub Custom Brews

Recently a co-worker of my dads gave him a couple of custom brews that he had made over at Kelly's Brew Pub on Central. I had heard that you could brew your own beer over at Kelly's but never gave any thought to trying it out.

Any how, the brew that was given to my father seems to have been a brown ale. It tasted a lot like Newcastle - actually, better than Newcastle. I'm thinking of going down to Kelly's and brewing a beer of my own, perhaps a stout or amber ale?

Nothing like drinking a pumpkin ale while you carve a pumpkin!

Pumpkin ales are always popular this time of year. This fall I tried a couple I hadn't before. The first was Albuquerque's own Chama River Brewing Co's pumpkin ale. Now that I write this I can't remember what it was called, but I do remember that it was
delicious. I also tried a pumpkin ale from Buffalo Bill's brewery. I saw a six pack of it when I was browsing Kelly's seasonal selection. It was ok, but not the best I've had.


Chama River Brewing Co - Pumpkin Ale -

As to be expected it poured a medium mahogany color, I had it out of a glass at the Chama River restaurant. Definitely hints of pumpkin in the smell, with a little bit of spice. When I got to tasting it this characteristic stayed true. The pumpkin and spice taste is kind of subdued, but not in a bad way. Very pleasant and reasonably easy on the mouth, not too carbonated but not too smooth. Overall I'd give this one a B+/A-.


Buffalo Bills Brewery Pumpkin Ale - I drank this one out of a bottle. Had the same smell characteristics as the Chama River brew. The first thing I noticed about this pumpkin ale was that the mouthfeel was very, very light. Almost frothy. That caught me off guard a little bit. There was only a light amount of pumpkin and spice taste, barely noticeable toward the end of a swallow. I'll give Buffalo Bills Pumpkin Ale a C+ and write it down as one I'll have to try again. Kind of disappointing to have so little taste for such a specialized brew.

Sam Adams Coastal Wheat

When I was browsing the grocery store the other day I came upon a six pack of Coastal Wheat. I had seen it in this summers Sam Adams variety packs but had not tasted it yet. The beer is so new, in fact, that the Sam Adams website has yet to add it.

Thinking that this beer sounded kind of good I picked up a six pack and took it home. Unfortunately I was sorely disappointed!

I drank it out of a glass. It pours like a wheat beer would, orange and cloudy. The first thing I noticed when smelling the beer was the lemon scent. Very dominant. Besides that I picked up some other fragrant notes. But the lemon stood out. The taste confirms the dominance of the lemon in the beer. The lemon is everpresent and really strong. I guess if you love lemons then maybe you will favor this beer. The lemon tastes like it was poured out of a bottle of lemon flavoring, it has a distinct "artificialness" to it, and this negatively affects the taste for me. As for the mouthfeel, it was also par with most wheat beers. It may have been heavy on the carbonation, but otherwise is close to your run of the mill wheats.

I always like to suggest that people try a beer for themselves, and this is still the case here. But I would not recommend it.